One Night In A Cave
by Written Parody
Summary: The moral of the story: don’t agree to go out in a boat when the water and temperatures are freezing. Because if you fall in and get swept away, you’ll have to do some embarrassing things to keep warm… CxL. Rated T but with a warning of diminutive M conte


**One Night In A Cave **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Transformers at all. Pity, otherwise I could wreak havoc in the world…

**Note: **Once again this is based on Cybertron and not Galaxy Force.

Wow second fic in one week… My muse is a very temperamental thing. This is kind of a Prequel to my other oneshot of the week (The Runaway Autobot), but it can be read separately as the only thing it really explains is what made Lori's father so utterly desperate to get Lori together with somebody else. As stated in the summary, there is a bit more mature content in this fic but don't worry, there isn't too much.

* * *

_This is _not _happening… _

Lori stared at her father with wide, horrified eyes. It was a dream. A mirage. It wasn't real.

Her father was not trying to have a sex talk with her.

"Dad!" she cut him off quickly, putting up her hands as a sign for him to stop. "Please. Please don't do this. Just because I'm going on to my eighteenth birthday doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to go on a sex spree."

At the word her father winced, looking uncomfortable.

"Lori it's just that… In less then a year you're going to be an adult. And I know… This might be a confusing and experimental time for you…"

_Where were you five years ago when the school started badgering us with this sort of thing? _

"I just want you to be careful. Please."

He looked so pleading, she nearly laughed.

"Dad, don't worry," she soothed. "Turning eighteen doesn't suddenly make you become one with your animal instincts or whatever."

"I'm just worried you meet a guy now…" her father persisted lamely.

At this Lori did laugh.

"Dad," she said, still chuckling as she picked up her bag and headed towards the door. "I've met a guy. We've been together for a long time now. Nothing's going to change in this last year before adulthood."

She closed the front door, leaving her father's appalled and surprised face behind her.

***

A slight crashing boom sounded as the jet slipped through the air. Almost lazily it turned around and headed back to the large river that ran through the vast woods. He caught up with a cruising vehicle that was making its way through the dense undergrowth with no problem at all.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea…"

"Oh for the love of Primus… Jetfire, That's the eleventh time you've said that!"

"Yes but Hot Shot… One of the targets may land on them…" Jetfire hesitated.

"Then aim properly when you drop them," Hot Shot sighed back. "Look this target practice is gonna do us both the world of good, even Optimus said so. And we can't leave the targets out in the lake, so the kids will get them for us. They've been in worse danger with us them potentially having a clay target fall on their heads."

Jetfire said nothing, but Hot Shot could tell he was still unconvinced. He sighed, exasperated, and continued on towards the river where he could distantly see the boat the humans were in, ready to catch the targets.

"Are you going to chicken out?" Hot Shot challenged when he reached the river bank.

Jetfire hesitated for another moment before he relented.

"No. Get ready, here comes number one."

Hot Shot fired a first shot into the air to warn the humans, and he saw Coby wave his arms over his head to show they'd understood. With a whoop Hot Shot stared shooting down the clay targets, barely noticing the little boat going too and fro across that little part of the river to fetch them. After a while, however, Jetfire stopped.

"Hot Shot, I think we should head back. Now."

"What now?!" Hot Shot groaned.

"There's a storm coming in. I can feel it. And that water is cold enough without rain."

If Hot Shot had had hands at that moment he would have slapped his forehead.

"Jetfire." He tried very hard to keep his voice level. "It's hot out for this time of year. The kids aren't even wearing long sleeves. And sure the water's pretty cold-Ok very cold," he corrected himself, sensing Jetfire was about to interrupt. "but they're not gonna go swimming. If the storm does come in, they'll have enough time to get to the shore so we can take them home. And that's assuming your weather gauge is correct."

"I don't know…" Jetfire said, hesitant again. "The kids-"

"Are fine," Hot Shot interrupted. "You've already made them take a waterproof bag each with a thick blanket in."

"Bud's is rather thin, actually," Jetfire muttered.

Hot Shot could only make a noise to convey his answer to that.

"Alright, alright," Jetfire surrendered. "I just hope you're right…"

Hot Shot gave a satisfied rev and shot at the next target.

***

"Why's they stop?" Bud asked, squinting towards Hot Shot on the bank.

"Beats me," Coby's voice came from over the side of the boat where he was fishing out the last target that had been shot.

"They're probably arguing again," Lori said, looking up at the stalling Jetfire.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Coby chortled, pulling himself all the way into the boat again with the target in his hands.

"Your hands are staring to turn blue," Lori commented as he dropped the target with the rest.

Coby looked at them for a moment and then grinned and tried to place them on Lori's cheeks. She squealed, twisting away and causing the boat to rock. Then she hit Coby on the shoulder, true Lori style, her long black hair fluttering with the movement. Not much had changed about her with the passing years, except that she had grown taller. Her hair was basically the same length and style and her eyes were the same vivacious violet. Coby and Bud had not changed much either; both were taller, more handsome and donning longer hair, but the essence of their looks had remained. They had also changed little on the inside; matured as they had grown older but not altering much in their core personalities.

"If you don't want him to put his cold hands on you then maybe you should start pulling the things out," Bud commented, pushing his beanie back from his forehead.

"Says the guy using the bags as a mattress," Lori shot back.

"They're really comfy," Bud shrugged.

"My point is made," Lori said, throwing her hands up.

"Why are you making such a big deal about it?" Bud suddenly grinned wickedly. "Unless you're jealous."

Lori gave him a look that told him she was questioning his sanity.

"It all adds up!" Bud said, clapping his hand to his forehead in mock realization as Coby and Lori shot each other a questioning look. "You're mad about this and Coby's hands for the same reasons!"

"Did he hit his head when he was younger?" Lori asked Coby, who shrugged with raised eyebrows.

"Don't deny it, I know! I know you're mad at me because _you _want to be lying on this soft, warm bed-like object. And you're mad at Coby's hands being cold because you want them all over you as you lie here."

Both older teens went bright red and started spluttering denials to this comment, looking highly flustered. Bud grinned wider.

"Whatever you say," he said with a little careless shrug. "Don't worry, in just over a year you'll be legal and then-"

Lori threw a target at him.

"They've started again and the water's more choppy now so we'll need everybody's eyes," Coby said quickly, ending the squabble; he didn't want Bud to end up on the bottom of the cold river.

For a while they worked in silence before suddenly a gust of wind took them all by surprise. They looked up, then only noticing how dark the sky had become and that the water was now obstinately fighting the boat. By the looks of things, the two Autobots had only noticed then too.

"That looks like a vicious storm. We'd better get out of here," Coby said, eyeing the clouds.

Hot Shot signalled to them to do exactly that and Coby started the boat, turning it towards shore. But the weather was not on their side and they had barely started back when it began to rain steadily.

"Aw great," Lori muttered, covering her hair and glaring at the clouds.

Coby chortled quietly and Bud grinned. It was so sudden it took Hot Shot and Jetfire a few minutes to comprehend what had happened. And a few minutes was all it took for the wave of water that had tipped the boat to suck all three humans under. Hot Shot transformed and tried to go to their rescue, but his plunge only added to the waves and the three were nowhere to be seen. Jetfire joined the search and they looked frantically for half an hour before giving up and resigning to wait for the help they had called for.

"This is all your fault," Jetfire spat, and Hot Shot could find no words to deny the accusation.

Please be alive…

***

Meanwhile, Hot Shot's entry into the water had joined the three to the current and they were swept downstream. Coby, tumbled around by the water, managed to grab hold of his brother and pull him to the surface. Bud gulped in the air thankfully, spluttering and shivering. Coby struck out towards the pile of bags that were being thrashed around still tied together and somehow still afloat. Bud, understanding, struggled after him and grabbed hold of the pile. Coby looked around with wild eyes and found what he was searching for. He dove under the water and grabbed Lori around the waist, pulling her up too. Bud pushed the bags towards them and they held on, breathless and shaking.

Bud, who was facing the way they were going, noticed the overhanging branches first and pointed to them, shouting something the other two couldn't hear over the roar of water and rain. However, upon seeing the branches, they understood his meaning and all started heading towards the branches. Bud grabbed on first and Coby helped Lori grab on too. He himself swung himself up, but leaned back to get the bags. Lori and Bud crawled onto dry land and watched him anxiously. Coby made his way back, laden by the three bags, but slipped on the last part of the wet branch. Both Bud and Lori grabbed him and pulled him onto the shore. Lori hugged him, utterly relieved he was alright.

"We have to get out of this rain," Coby yelled, noting the sheer force of the falling water now that they were out of the rushing river.

He grabbed Lori's hand, shot Bud a grateful look as he took half of the bulk of the pack and then lead the two through the dense undergrowth, searching for any sign of shelter. At last, after much labour, he spotted a cave cut into a wall of rock and he tiredly pulled the other two towards it. They stumbled in, shivering uncontrollably, and collapsed onto the ground further in.

"W…we h…have to g…get out of...ff our c...clothes!" Bud chattered.

Too cold and tired to argue and seeing the logic in his words, Lori and Coby joined him in stripping down to only underwear.

"U…use the thin b...blanket a…as a towel," Coby said, trying to unzip Bud's bag with his frozen fingers.

He eventually succeeded and the three took it in turns to use the one side of the blanket to dry themselves off as much as possible. Then they took out the other two, thicker, blankets and overlapped them so more heat was created. But even that was not enough and their teeth continued to chatter and knock together. The cold was not disappearing, and after a while Bud voiced his solution.

"I…if w…we want t…to get warm, w…we've gott…tta take o…off all our wet stuff. As…ss in our underwear t…too."

Lori and Coby didn't reply to this, seeing the intelligence and the problem in the suggestion. Bud was the first to speak again.

"L…look. We h…have two blankets, s…so two of u…us have t…to sh…share." He purposefully didn't say which two had to share. "I… I'm g…gong down th…there," he said, getting up and pointing to a place in-between two outcrops of rock that hid the entrance from their view from where they were sitting.

Shivering and dragging one of the thicker blankets he disappeared into the middle of the two walls of rock. They saw his boxers being flung onto the pile of other clothes and they heard the rustle of the thinner blanket being used as towel again. The two waited, unsure and shivering, for a few moments until they heard Bud's moan.

"W…w…warmer?" Coby called.

"Much!" Bud's voice answered, sounding much warmer then they felt. "Here," he added, and the thinner blanket was flung over the outcrop of rock towards them.

Coby and Lori stared at it for a moment and then they looked at each other. Each of them had noticed the double meaning to Bud's sentence but neither of them wanted to bring it up. And then, slowly yet deliberately, Lori unfastened the back of her bra. Coby swallowed loudly as her shaking fingers pulled it off, fighting hard against the natural instinct to look down. To distract himself he pulled off his vest instead, feeling and hearing Lori taking off her underwear next to him. His face burning, he looked down at the wet clothing in his hands, feeling Lori's irresolute stillness next to him as well. Then, almost as if she was daring him to say something, Lori stood up and walked towards the thinner blanket to dry off. Coby couldn't stop himself from looking this time, and his cheeks burned brighter then before, instilling some heat into his body.

He got up too, while she was still preoccupied, and pulled off his own boxers before walking towards her and taking the blanket she handed him without a word. He began to dry himself off and Lori returned quickly to the warmth and privacy of the blanket. Coby didn't look at her in his embarrassment and awkwardness and so he did not see the little glances she could not stop herself from giving him. By the time he went back to the blanket himself, his eyes averted from her, she had shamed herself from looking at him any further. Their body heat and lack of wet clothes made them warm up quicker then Bud did and so it wasn't long at all before their teeth stopped chattering so they could speak.

"I peeked," Coby blurted out, ashamed and needing to confess.

Lori blinked and then blushed, a slight smile appearing on her face.

"I peeked too," she whispered before her lips found his.

He was surprised, but pulling away didn't even occur to him for a second. Her skin felt so soft against his own and he somehow doubted the goosebumps were because of the cold. There had never been so much of her bare skin touching him before… The sensation was almost otherworldly and he could barely wrap his mind around it. Lori too tingled at the feel of his flesh beneath her fingers. Her brain noted every different texture as her fingers stroked different parts of his body; his shoulders, his forearms, his cheek…

But suddenly through the bliss and discovery uncertainty lodged itself. A flashing light of warning began to go off in both of their heads. Lori found herself remember all the boring, tedious talks the school always gave. She couldn't remember actually paying attention to any of them, but at that moment it seemed like every word ever said was running through her head and making her stomach twist. A frantic battle began within her; yes or no? She was undecided, unsure, incited, driven by emotion. She was still uncertain, but she did not break away. Coby was going through principally the same thoughts and feelings but he, unlike her, had made up his mind about this type of moment a long time ago.

With a part of himself hating his choice, he went through with the decision he had made that one night an age ago.

***

"Hot Shot could you _please _back up a little? You're practically squashing me into the screen."

Hot Shot impatiently took a step back and Scattorshot relaxed then shot the other Autobot a look.

"They're alright," he promised quietly.

Hot Shot said nothing but continued to watch the huge screen in front of him. On it a group of humans were walking through a dense forest calling the names of their children or, in Tim's case, brothers. The only other sound was the heavy footsteps of Jolt who was their travelling camera as the forest was far too tightly knit for the bigger Autobots. Even though he knew this, Hot Shot was dying to be out there. The waiting was driving him crazy. He had been waiting for news for eight hours. All through the rain while the other Autobots searched he had been told to wait with the humans. Eight hours.

A hand rested on his shoulder and his gaze turned automatically to see who it was. But he could not hold Optimus's gaze. The guilt and shame was too unbearable. Almost as unbearable as the waiting.

"Eight hours they've been somewhere out here," they heard a male voice mutter despairingly, as though he was mirroring Hot Shot's thoughts.

"We'll find them," Mr Hansen promised, pushing through another tangle of leaves and vines.

Suddenly a cry on their side made all the Autobots jump. Red Alert was waving something around over his head and whooping, much to the utter surprise of everyone else. A few of them exchanged glances and wondered if the pressure hadn't made him crack.

"I got it to work!" Red Alert howled, oblivious to their stares. "Coby's signal from his phone! It's finally submitting! I know where they are!"

Amidst the cheers and relieved sighs Optimus managed to get that bit of information through to Jolt, although he had to yell at them to shut up a few times before he could be heard. When the news was finally conveyed to the humans, they let out a cheer too, although their reaction was still a lot more dignified. Jolt was sent the position and the party crashed off towards it, watched eagerly by the rest of the Autobots.

After a lot of crashing, a bit of swearing and a lot of sweat they finally reached the cave. Almost holding their breaths they entered, searching around fearfully. The first for they saw was, of course, that of Bud. He was curled up under his blanket, only his head and the tops of his hands showing. His face was peaceful and healthy looking but even so his mother was still slightly worried as she bent down next to him.

"Bud? Swettie, can you hear me?"

Following more persuasion he opened his eyes and blinked blearily as his mother hugged him, sobbing slightly. His father, looking equally relieved, started pulling on the warm clothing he had taken with him on the search while Tim picked up his discarded and still damp clothes, making slight faces. Lori's parents tried to be patient and politely turned away when Bud had to pull on his pants, but they were just as anxious to find their daughter and not being able to se her anywhere was making thie worry grow.

"Bud, do you know where Lori is?" her father finally couldn't stop from asking.

"Round the corner," Bud yawned, still half asleep.

They whole party moved around the outcrops of rock, lead by Lori's parents who were going the fastest. They stopped, however, at the sight that greeted them. Tim was confused and a little worried at their abrupt halt, and looking at the expressions on their faces didn't help make him feel better. He therefore pushed forward to see for himself, leaving his father and mother, who were supporting Bud, to peer over his shoulder.

"Well… They've known each other long enough…" Tim said into the uncomfortable silence.

Coby and Lori lay before them under the same blanket. Their underwear lay in plain sight in front of them as if to make sure the onlookers knew the two were stark naked as they lay. It might have been passed without too much bother if Lori wasn't lying across Coby's chest with her hands around his neck and his face buried into her hair. The blanket covered from both of their shoulder blades down and so they couldn't see where Coby's hands were. Tim was grateful for that; Lori's father looked ready to explode.

"Nothing happened," Bud announced, breaking the silence.

No one said anything, but Bud's voice had made Coby stir. The grownups did not speak to each other as each couple woke their own child, dressed them, and lead them out. Lori and Coby were still too befuddled to notice the tension. Coby also therefore missed the death glares he was getting from Lori's father.

Lori found herself curled up on the backseat of her car the next time her brain registered her surroundings. She dimly heard her father growling something unpleasant, but she didn't bother asking him what he was upset about. She instead slipped into the blissfully happy memory of earlier.

"Not here. Not now," Coby had told her, breaking away.

She had stared at him, confused and feeling slightly rejected.

"Why…?" both emotions had shown on her face.

He had stroked her cheek, making her skin react where his fingers touched her.

"Lori, I wana do this right. When we're married and not before. Call me old fashioned, but you owe it to yourself."

She had stared at him, unable to do anything else, but understanding. The torment inside of her had disappeared as she made her choice as well and it had been replaced by the warmest and fullest feelings she had felt yet. Needing something to say to fill the silence, she had blurted the first stupid thing that came to mind.

"What if I don't marry you one day?"

He had looked at her, and she saw how much that question hurt him. Her insides had reacted with more twists and flops to this second bit of new knowledge. She had thought she would burst with sheer happiness.

"Then I want whoever it is that is lucky enough to steal your heart to get the full you. I don't want to always be there; an unseen force in your relationship that holds you apart. He must get you pure, unblemished and without any part of you belonging to me."

"Fool. You'll always have a part of me," she had whispered before kissing him again, this time knowing where they would stop.

She smiled at the memory, curled under a different blanket on the backseat of her car.

_I'll only ever want you_ she thought happily.

In front of her, her father raved and ranted about how much he hated the idea of 'that Hansen boy' being close to her. But even though his words warned of possible unhappiness for her in the future right then Lori was happy, caught in the memories of her one night in a cave.


End file.
